Allergies, Be Damned!

The smell of lilacs is like the nectar of the gods. The sad thing is, it only lasts about a week. So, what is one to do?

Well, in my case, I take a trip to Madison's Arboretum and stick my face in blooming lilacs for about an hour and a half. By the time I'm done, I've gotten my lilac fix (and I've sneezed my head off) and don't feel quite as bad when the blooms start to brown and drop.

So, let's start with the Arboretum (lovingly referred to as The Arb). The University of Wisconsin Arboretum is actually a research facility - acres and acres of land - gardens and prairies - that's used for environmental and ecological study. Their mission is to conserve and restore Arboretum lands, advance restoration ecology, and foster the land ethic." And, to the delight of thousands of people, it's open to the public for all manner of fun. The history of the Arb is fascinating and it's wonderful to know that all this gorgeous land (and water!) in the middle of our city will be preserved for the foreseeable future.

My all-time favorite part of the Arb is the lilac grove. There are, quite literally, hundreds of varieties of lilacs. Large flowered, small flowered, double-flowered, trees, bushes, sweet smelling, spicy smelling, and even one that smells slightly of feet. Adjacent to the lilac grove is the cherry and apple grove so it's easy enough to wander from the heady scent of lilac over to the blooming trees for a bit of a palate cleanser. I love that the cherry and apple trees bloom concurrent with the lilacs. It makes the trip doubly fun. 

Here, in pictures, is a summary of my trip to the Arb last Friday. We had a stunningly gorgeous late afternoon promenade and stuck our faces in every single lilac bloom. Halfway through I started sneezing but, as the title suggests, allergies be damned - I was going to get my fill!

Enjoy!

My friend didn't sneeze as much as me.

Blue skies and sun!

These are the tags on the trees - in case you want to identify the variety.

Look at the crazy curl on these flower petals!

Entering the apple & cherry tree grove.

Then we wandered into the maple grove.

This Norway Maple was one of the biggest trees I've ever seen.

Wildflowers by the visitor's center.

Gumdrop Pillows

Hi everyone!

On Sunday Alex and I got to have some fun. We met our friend Missy down at a wonderful local fabric store, The Sewcial Lounge, and took a class on the Amy Butler Gumdrop Pillows.

The three of us have been wanting to make these gorgeous tuffets for ages. The only thing holding us back was the cost of so much fiberfill...seriously, it takes an insane amount of those little bags you get at the craft store to fill up one of those pillows. But the cost of this class was reasonable and included the fiberfill. Perfect!

It was a blast. We laughed, sewed, nibbled on snacks, and stuffed those pillows for a half hour until they were full! Our teacher was the owner, Sara. What a doll. So sweet and helpful. I've taken many classes in my day, but I've never had a teacher who jumped in when you weren't looking and pinned your pieces or pressed your seams. She was a master at making a class clip along and gave invaluable tips and tricks that the pattern never mentioned. I would definitely take a class from her again.

Stuffing action shots:

The pattern itself was really pretty easy. We finished our projects during this three hour class. As a matter of fact, each of us has the notion to make more of these soon. By hook or by crook!

Mine.

Alex's

Missy's

Seriously, how adorable are these?

Cassandra

Indoctrinating the Masses

Cassandra and I have an evil plan. Well, it might not actually be evil but we kind of like the idea of being slightly dark and mysterious.

We want to teach everyone to craft something. 

Frankly, it doesn't matter what a person's interest is, we just want them to join the club and become a maker of things. Making stuff is great for the soul and the mind. It gets you out of your routine and gives you something to focus on that will provide a finished project at the end. For those of you who are readers, you know that sad feeling you get at the end of a good book? Well, making something is the exact opposite of that. Even if your finished project doesn't come out exactly as planned, you've CREATED something - which is an awesome feeling.

To this end, we've been doing our part to bring crafting to the masses. And, while the term "masses" may be overstating it a bit, we believe that every little bit counts. In recent months, we've taught a Beginning Knitting class and, yesterday, I taught a Beginning Embroidery class.

Me, teaching. Note my new hairdo!

We're lucky to have this cool community space in Madison called DreamBank where they'll pay for all the materials and advertise the class. All you have to do is teach it. The students get to go home with a new skill AND all the materials. So, yesterday, seven people tried their hand at our Bear embroidery pattern*. They received the pattern printed on linen/cotton fabric, a 6" hoop, a #5 embroidery needle, a skein of floss, and handouts on how to do the stitches needed for this pattern. Plus, of course, they got two hours of instruction from yours truly.  ;)

Interestingly, teaching embroidery was MUCH easier than teaching beginning knitting. All my students were women (two of them teenagers) and they seemed to intrinsically understand the stitch work. My star pupil was one of the teenagers who just plowed through her pattern with abandon and did a great job. Her mom struggled a bit but I was able to find the right words (and process) to help her understand what she was doing and she eventually caught on and was successful.

The best part was watching people "branch out" and try things that were not strictly on the curriculum. I encourage this behavior because I think it makes more fearless crafters.

Anyway, a good time was had by all and I'm pretty sure that a few of these folks will actually finish their project. Hopefully they'll continue on and make more wonderful stuff.

- Alex

*Click that link for free downloads of Bear, Hare, Fox, and Owl embroidery patterns!

Friday Finds: Little Free Library

Most crafters are readers - at least in my experience - and, generally, supportive of bookish things. Cassandra and I both use our library cards a lot. There are books (on shelves and off shelves) in every room of my house. And, while I own and love my Kindle, sometimes you just need that paper in your hands.


One of my favorite finds of all time is an organization started by a couple of guys here in Madison. When I met them three years ago, they were just getting the idea off the ground. Now, a dear friend of mine is working for them and the concept has gone nation-wide.


Behold, the Little Free Library!

So, the idea is that you make (or buy) one of these, put it in your front yard, populate it with some books, and people can take or leave books at their leisure. Some folks put reading benches next to their Little Free Library. Some have mostly childrens' books. Some have only non-fiction. Your Little Free Library is as individual as you are. It's an amazingly lovely way to promote reading and build a sense of community in your neighborhood.


The organization has been featured on NBC Nightly News and NPR and they estimate that there are Little Free Libraries in 30 states and 20 countries!


Join the literacy bandwagon and put a cute little library in your front yard. :)

- Alex

Summer Friday

I have a friend who works for a company that does "Summer Fridays". Basically, this means that, every Friday during the summer months, people get to go home early. Now, I'm not really sure how this works in reality because you know that someone is getting screwed. If EVERYONE left early, who's doing the work, right?

Anyway, I'm taking a Summer Friday. Cassandra is camping (I'll explain why that is hilarious some other time) and the weather is absolutely perfect. I'm leaving work early and going home to have a cocktail on my patio.

Before I go, I thought I'd share this awesome guerrilla crafting project with you. Some knitters got together to yarn bomb as part of the on-going protests at the Wisconsin Capitol. I'm proud of my friends...

The fabulous Carrie Ouradnik (organizer)

If you're interested in joining the group, you can learn more on Facebook at the Crafty Progressives page.

- Alex